Besson's Big Blue finally opens in Italy

After 14 years of legal wrangling, Luc Besson's cult diving movie, The Big Blue, is finally set to open in Italy, Screen Daily reports. The film, which stars Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno and is based on the deep-sea diving rivalry between Jacques Mayol and Enzo Majorca, was a hit in several European countries when it came out in 1988.

However, it was blocked from release in Italy pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by Majorca. He claimed the film cast his character in a bad light.

Despite Besson's assertions that Majorca had been invited to collaborate on the project, as Mayol had done, and refused, the film remained unseen in Italy while the case dragged through the Sicilian courts. Majorca relented shortly after Mayol's suicide in December 2001 and agreed with the director to several dialogue cuts.

The Big Blue will receive its inaugural Italian screening at the close of the Viareggio film festival on September 21. The film's Italian distributor, Filmauro, plans a limited nationwide release on 70 screens on September 27.